Carrot Cake Cupcakes

These vegan carrot cupcakes are exactly what you want from a perfect cupcake. Melt in your mouth goodness. They are soft, moist, and fluffy, with the perfect amount of spice. Absolutely delectable. Anytime I make them, the entire batch doesn’t stick around for more than a day or two.

I spent a couple of months developing this recipe. When I finally felt that I had perfected it, I decided to use it to create a beautifully decorated 2-layer cake to bring to my family’s Christmas as a surprise. None of them are vegans, mind you. When it came around to dessert time, nearly everyone had a piece and absolutely gushed over it. Some even declared it the best carrot cake they’d ever had in their lives. It has been my go to carrot cake recipe ever since!

(Makes about 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients

For The Cake:

● 1 1/2 cups plus 2 T canola oil

● 1 cup granulated sugar

● 1 cup brown sugar

● 6 “eggs” (Ener-g Egg Replacer)

● 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

● 3 1/4 cups flour

● 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

● 2 teaspoon baking soda

● 2 teaspoon salt

● 1 teaspoon baking powder

● 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

● 1/8 tsp of ground cloves

● 1 pound finely-grated fresh carrots

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In the bowl of a large stand mixer , mix together oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Add in egg replacer and vanilla and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves) until combined. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl, and beat on medium-speed, scraping down the pan occasionally. Then fold in the grated carrots by hand, and stir until combined. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cupcake tins. Then bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Serve with vegan buttercream frosting. Frosting recipe follows.

Best All-Purpose Vegan Buttercream

(Amount will frost a 2-layer cake or pipe
24 cupcakes, with about 1.5 cups leftover)

● 1 C Vegetable Shortening

● 1 C Earth Balance Sticks

● 7 C Powdered Sugar (Sifted)

● 1 T Vanilla

● ¼ C Soy milk or soy creamer

Directions

Beat the shortening and butter sticks together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar in 1-2 cup increments and beat for 2 more minutes. Add in the vanilla and soy milk and beat for another 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy. Yes really, 5-7 minutes! It’s the key to getting fluffy frosting.